102824: His work requires him to play a standard adhaan preceded by Qur’aan recitation and followed by salawaat upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)

A brother working as Mu’adhin (who calls for prayers) in the ministry of Islamic endowments is asking: “I am working as Mu’adhin and serving in a masjid, we were commanded some time ago to play the adhaan via radio when the time of adhaan comes. We were also ordered to play Quraan recitation before the adhaan time, and follow the adhaan loudly by sending peace and blessing upon prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
The question: am I sinful to do these, knowing that I am officially commanded to do them? If I do not fulfill the commands it may cause ham to me.”.

Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly:

Giving the adhaan via recording or broadcasting equipment, or
sending it from one place to other mosques via such equipment is an
innovation (bid’ah). The ruling on that has been discussed in the answer to
question no. 48990.

Secondly:

Reciting Qur’aan and tasbeeh and adhkaar before the adhaan
for the five daily prayers is also an innovation (bid’ah).

The scholars of the Standing Committee were asked:

What is the Islamic ruling on reading Qur’aan on Friday
before Zuhr prayer over the loudspeakers? If you say that this is something
that has no basis, they will say to you: “Do you want to stop people reading
Qur’aan?” What you think about the religious nasheed over the loudspeakers
that come shortly before the adhaan for Fajr? If you say that this is
something for which there is no evidence, they will say to you: “This is a
good deed, it wakes the people for Fajr prayer.”

They replied: We do not know of any evidence which suggests
that this was done at the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) and we do not know of any of the Sahaabah who did it.
The same applies to the nasheed which come over the loudspeakers before the
adhaan for Fajr. This is an innovation, and every innovation is a going
astray. It is proven that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: “Whoever introduces anything into this matter of ours that
is not part of it will have it rejected.” End quote.

For the muezzin to send blessings (salawaat) upon the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) out loud following the
adhaan is also an innovation (bid’ah), because the adhaan is an act of
worship, and it is not permissible to add anything to its wording or take
anything away from it. It starts with the muezzin saying “Allaahu akbar,
Allaahu akbar” and it ends with him saying “Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah.” Anything
that is added to the adhaan, before or after, is an innovation.

These people have mixed the adhaan with Qur’aan and adhkaar
before and after it to such an extent that the adhaan is lost in the midst
of all these adhkaar. They are also disturbing the people at the times when
they sleep and when they worship.

Ibn al-Jawzi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, discussing
ways in which the shaytaan tricks the muezzins:

They mix the adhaan of Fajr with reminders and tasbeeh and
exhortations, and they put the adhaan in the midst of that and mix it with
that. The scholars regarded it as makrooh to add anything to the adhaan. We
have seen people who often get up in the night and stand on the minaret,
exhorting and reminding, and some of them recite soorahs from the Qur’aan in
a loud voice, which keeps the people from sleeping, and confuse people who
are reciting Qur’aan in their tahajjud. All of these are reprehensible
actions. End quote

Talbees Iblees (p. 157)

Al-Maqreezi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, discussing
the history of this innovation and the rulings on it:

It was introduced in 791 AH, when some confused ascetic heard
the muezzins sending salaams on the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) in the night before Friday (which is also
an innovation). A number of his brothers regarded this as something good and
he said to them: Would you like this salaam to be included with every
adhaan? They said: Yes. That night passed, and in the morning he claimed
that he had seen the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) in a dream and that he told him to go to the man in charge and
tell him that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
was telling him to order the muezzins to send salaams on the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in every adhaan. So
he went to the man in charge of Cairo, who at that time was Najm al-Deen
Muhammad al-Tanbadi, who was an ignorant old man and was known for his bad
conduct and was known to care only for money even if that led him to doom,
and he was not ashamed to take bribes, and he did not care about the welfare
of the Muslims, and his ignorant ideas and bad deeds were well known, and he
said to him: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) is telling you to order all the muezzins to add the words
Al-salaatu wa’l-salaam ‘alayka yaa rasool-Allaah (Blessings and peace be
upon you, O Messenger of Allaah) to every adhaan, as they do every Friday
night. The ignorant man liked this suggestion, and he was unaware that the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) does
not enjoin anything after his death except that which is in accordance with
what Allaah had prescribed on his lips during his lifetime, and that in His
Holy Book Allaah forbade adding anything to His laws, as He says
(interpretation of the meaning): “Or have they partners with Allaah
(false gods) who have instituted for them a religion which Allaah has not
ordained?” [al-Shoora 42:21]. And the Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Beware of newly-invented
matters.” So he issued orders to that effect in Sha’baan of the year
mentioned, and this innovation was introduced fully, and it has lasted until
our own times in all areas of Egypt and Syria, and the common folk and
ignorant people think that this is part of the adhaan which it is not
permissible to omit. That has led to some of the heretics in some villages
adding after the adhaan salaam to some people who have died. There is no
power and no strength except with Allaah. To Allaah we belong and unto Him
is our return. End quote from al-Khatat al-Makhreeziyyah (2/172). See
also al-Ibdaa’ fi Madaar al-Ibtidaa’ by Shaykh ‘Ali Mahfooz (p.
172-174).

Here in Jordan and in other countries, some muezzins say,
after the adhaan, ‘Allahumma salli ‘ala sayyidina Muhammad wa ‘ala aalihi
wa sahbihi ajma’een (O Allaah, send blessings upon our Master Muhammad
and upon all his family and companions). Is there anything wrong with that?
What is the ruling on it?

He replied:

That depends. If the muezzin says it in a low voice, it is
prescribed for the muezzin and others who answer the muezzin, because the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When you
hear the muezzin then say what he says, then send blessings upon me, for
whoever sends one blessing upon me, Allaah will send ten blessings upon him
in return, then ask Allaah to grant me al-waseelah, which is a position in
Paradise that will be granted to only one slave of Allaah, and I hope that I
will be the one, so whoever asks for al-waseelah for me, then my
intercession will be granted for him.” Narrated by Muslim in his Saheeh.
Al-Bukhaari narrated in his Saheeh that Jaabir ibn ‘Abd-Allaah (may
Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“Whoever says when he hears the call to prayer, ‘Allaahummah
Rabba haadhihi’l-da’wat il-taammah wa’l-salaat il-qaa’imah, aati Muhammadan
al-waseelata wa’l-fadeelah, wab’athhu maqaaman mahmoodan alladhi wa’adtahu
(O Allaah, Lord of this perfect Call and the Prayer to be offered, grant
Muhammad the privilege and also the eminence, and resurrect him to the
praised position that You have promised), will be granted my intercession on
the Day of Resurrection.”

But if the muezzin says that in a loud voice, like the
adhaan, then it is an innovation (bid’ah), because it may be thought that it
is part of the adhaan. It is not permissible to add anything to the adhaan,
because the last words of the adhaan are Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah (there
is no god but Allaah) and it is not permissible to add anything to that. If
that was a good thing, then the righteous salaf would have done it before
us, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) would
have taught it to his ummah and prescribed it for them. He (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever does any action that is not
part of this matter of ours will have it rejected.” Narrated by Muslim in
his Saheeh; the original version is narrated in al-Saheehayn
from ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her).

I ask Allaah to increase us and you and all of our brothers
in understanding of His religion, and to enable us all to adhere steadfastly
to it, for He is All-hearing, Ever near. End quote.

Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn Baaz
(1/439, 440) and (10/362, 363).

In Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah (6/101-103) it says:

After the adhaan, it is prescribed for the muezzin and others
to send blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him), then to say: “Allaahummah Rabba
haadhihi’l-da’wat il-taammah wa’l-salaat il-qaa’imah …
(O Allaah, Lord of this perfect
Call and the Prayer to be offered …). But the muezzin and others should say
this quietly, and not raise their voices, because it is not prescribed to
say it out loud, as stated above. End quote.

Fourthly:

Once it is understood that
standardizing the adhaan is an innovation, and it is an innovation to recite
tasbeeh, dhikr and Qur’aan before the adhaan, and it is an innovation to
send blessing and salaams upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) out loud after the adhaan, then the ruling on the
muezzins doing these actions will become clear, which is that it is not
permissible to do that. If the muezzin thinks that this is something
temporary, and that it will soon be changed or that he can become an imam or
take up an administrative position, then he can stay there for a while, but
if this continues, then he should not stay in that job where he will be
playing a role in spreading these innovations.